Gatineau Park ski conditions P16-p19 + Taylor 29DEC11

I skated from P16 to P19 with a swing by Taylor Lake on the way back.  It is a real mixed bag.  The trail has been groomed with varying degrees of success.  P16 to Herridge is pretty good with only minor damage from walkers.  There had been a fair amount of snowmobile traffic so it was nice and firm.  Herridge to 52 was still ok but from 52 to Lac Philippe the grooming was a notch better.  Unfortunately from Lac Philippe to 55 conditions began to get worse (but still ok) as walking and snowshoe traffic was higher.  Then the bottom fell out from 55 to P19 and much of route 55 itself.  In spite of there being snowshoe trails along the ski trail most walkers picked the ski trail.  Basically it was a mess.  For some reason, in spite of the terrible condition of the trail, it was given a thumbs up.  If the NCC continues to allow walking on these ski trails they need to be groomed twice a day.

Grooming itself was ok considering it is the very start of the year.  The trail is not yet flat or particularly firm.  It would be less frustrating for classic skiers as the tracks themselves were spared the vandalism inflicted by the walkers.

You do not need rock skis but you must be attentive.  Some rocks are sticking out.

Gatineau Park Christmas Day 2011

This was my third day in a row skiing this season.  The conditions were much better today with the new snow.  Nothing was groomed although I think tomorrow they could pack the parkways.  I have skied (skate) the loop including up to Champlain.  I would recommend rock skis because there are some sections where snow is thin. 

gatinea park 27Mar P6 to Fire Tower

It started out great.  I headed south from P6 on the parkways down to Penguin and then Ridge out to the Fire Tower.   The parkways and from Penguin to the FP had all been regroomed over night and were fantastic.  I thought it would be one of the great days because the grooming up Penguin and along Ridge was perfect! I figured that if it was like that to the FT I would have to write a letter to Demsis about what a great company they are.  Unfortunately the groomer turned left at the FP.  Ridge, 1b, 24, and out to the FT had not been groomed.  It wasn't bad but it was a bit firm to begreat.  As I knew from yesterday there was not grooming at all past McKinstry.  Very much worth it to get out there.  Demsis seems to have figured out how to groom in minimal snow conditions, its too bad that today they just didn't groom Ridge all the way.

Gatineau Park 26March From P6 to Fire Tower via CP, Khyber Pass,1B, 24

Basically conditions are excellent.  One flaw is that it is not groomed past McKinstry however it was still skiable with a nice amount of powder on top.  I am not sure why the groomer turned around @ McKinstry?  I was surprised there weren't more people out-likely a good thing as the trail was not skied out too much even by 1pm.

Gatineau Park 22Mar. Loop from P6 up Penguin/Ridge-evening ski

Clearly no grooming since the snow yesterday.  There is enough snow for at least some compaction and there were quite a few people out who would have enjoyed it.  Penguin was ok and Ridge was pretty good however the parkways really weren't that enjoyable.  FP was better than CP because of the heavier traffic.  If one had stayed only on Ridge it would have been a pretty good day.

Gatineau Park 20Mar-Penguin, Burma, Ridge to FT

Ridge from Penguin to McKinstry was once again very good having been freshly groomed.  Unfortunately it was not groomed past McKinstry so one had to deal with the frozen ruts from yesterday.  It was doable but was frustrating given how great the ride was to get there.  Not really sure why the groomer would just stop @ McKinstry?  On the way up  I took a detour and went onto Burma.  It was not groomed and was a real mess.  If Burma is not going to be consistently groomed I don't know why it is considered a primary trail?
1B and 24 were both in very good condition.

I made the mistake of leaving p10 and going to Penguin via 32 and the Duldrums.  Basically this section is closed, especially for skating.  The parkway after p8 heading up to Penguin was excellent as were the parkways after Huron Lookout and back to p10.

Gatineau Park 19 Mar from P10, Burma, Ridge, 1B, 24 toward FT

Grooming today was excellent.  I left from p10 and went up Burma.  Burma is in quite good condition, although because of some of the frozen ruts and gouges the overall condition could be ranked as 7/10.  Ridge was fantastic all the way to the 2km to go sign for McKinstry at which point I had to turn around.  24 and 1B were also excellent.  Champlain Parkway from the cutoff at Huron was fantastic as it had not seen much traffic.  FP was in good shape but even by the time I was getting back to P10 @ 10:15 it was just starting to get worn down a little and the lot was packed.
It did seem that there was a good classic track everywhere but I suspect those skating enjoyed the day just a bit more.
Today was one for the ages, fast and flat with beautiful sunshine.

Lake Placid xc ski @ Mt Van Hoevenberg

LP has received lots of snow.  In fact I think the last snow emergency was only about 10 days ago.  For the last 2 days conditions have ranged from perfect to icy to very slow, depending on shade time of day, grooming, etc.

The value can't be beat.  Because of various daily specials I haven't had to pay more than $10 for a day pass.

Grooming here is a bit of a mystery.  They don't seem to groom at night but perhaps start early in the morning.  The place does not open until 9am.  I have skied Porter, Ladies 5km and few of the other loops plus a separate go at the LP loppet course.  Some of this is tough skiing but it can be made more difficult by the way the grooming starts/stops on the trails depending on what "cutoffs" the groomer takes.  Porter is considered the toughest loop with some good downhill sections.  These become very tricky when the trail is the not freshly groomed but has become rutted by the freezing over night.  The website and even the people at the front counter told me the trail was freshly groomed.  I guess its a question of what is fresh.

If you start at 1pm maybe everything is groomed by then, but at this time of year count on slow snow.

The other thing is the website is not updated daily with the conditions report.  When I mentioned it to them yesterday that the website was 3 days old the lady said, "oh".

Don't get me wrong.  LP has great trails that are nice and wide and when groomed are perfect.  Its just that one expects near perfection all the time when you see all the snow and knowing that this is supposed to be one of the top tier nordic skiing destinations in the East.  It is still very much worth the trip.

Gatineau Park FP, Burma, 1B, 24 Fire Tower Mar13

Left from P10 and headed up Burma.  It had been groomed but I think it is paying the price for the early season neglect.  Many ruts etc so with the slow snow it was a fair amount of work and is not nearly in as good shape as it should be. 1B is  good as is 24.  Ridge was good although there were snowmobile ruts at  up to Wolf Trail,   I think it was in support of the race, so is excusable.  After Wolf Trail conditions were excellent right to the Fire Tower as there had been little traffic.  There was less ice/water than I thought there would be.

Coming back I came via the parkways. CP has not been groomed as well as it could be.  There is lots of snow and there is no reason for the crown that is now there.  It looked like only a small area for skaters had been put into the snow since the rain.

The snow is pretty slow and made for harder work than normal but not so much as to take away the fun.  Overall conditions are good and I was surprised there were not more people out.  I'm off to Lake Placid on Monday but suspect early morning conditions will be very good, particularly on trails that are groomed again tonight.

XC @ Tremblant not Gatineau Park 12Mar

Spent the day at the cross country ski center at Tremblant.  I ended up skating about 27km.  It was pretty hard work but didn't sound as difficult as Gatineau Park,  likely because much of the trails were groomed this morning and some were in the process of being groomed when I left around 1pm.    In some locations there was standing water that was pretty easy to get around.  What was nice to see at one point was a staff member on the trail shoveling snow into an area where a little pond had formed, similar to what we saw on Penguin last week.  Obviously they are trying to get the most out of what they have.
There is plenty of snow although I'm not sure it is much more than GP.  They seem to be doing 2 passes on some of the trails today.  One with maybe a snowmobile or some other light machinery and then along came the big groomer.  Where this was performed there is one classic track and a very nice skating lane-perfectly flat.
I recommend a visit for a nice change of pace.  Some sections are really very nice.

Gatineau Park 6Mar-follow up to danger on Penguin

Surprisingly FP was not as nice as Ridge Road.  I guess Ridge had been groomed quite a bit earlier as it was hard and pretty fast.  It was groomed only out to 24.  24 and 1B were in really good shape.  Other trails such as Burma, 2, 40 and 33 that had been groomed this morning were very soft and a real slog in some places. 

After Burma I returned to Ridge to go down Penguin.  Conditions were excellent except there is a dangerous section at the bottom of one of the steep sections on the way down.  There was a large puddle that has now frozen with very large chunks in the shape of the groomers track.  Also there is a large "wall" of ice likely 8 inches tall.  This patch covers the entire width of the trail.  When I came over the top in my tuck I thought at first I could get around this on the right side but quickly realized I could either crash myself or get wiped out by the ice.  I hit the deck on my own and ended up stopping just a few feet from the problem area.  Please note this is not a flat icy patch - it has very large chunks.

I stopped by P8 and told the Demsis man.  Hopefully he will alert others and get some equipment up there to flatten it out.  From 24 all the way down Ridge it was fantastic to this point- that  is one reason why suddenly seeing this situation was a complete surprise.  I did not see any additional warning tape on the way down.

Gatineau Park 3Mar Whats with Burma?

Went out late in the day.  Champlain Pkwy was fantastic, Ridge and Penguin were very good.  However why is Burma not in better shape?  I figured that with the big snow on Monday Burma would be fantastic-far from it.  It seems to have only been groomed once since the snowfall.  It is narrow and the skaters have been forced to skate over the tracks.  The luge run has returned.  Since it is well known to be a problem on this trail why is it not compacted more often to help decrease the impact of the snowploughers?  It is still soft and I had the joy of seeing the guy coming toward me move to the side only to sink and do the total face plant-his friend thought it was funny.  This is a primary trail and more than that I thought it has been selected as one of the best trails in the world.  It deserves more care and attention

Gatineau Park 27Feb FP, Burma, Fire Tower

As reported previously the grooming was done last night so it was before the snow.  Still conditions this morning were pretty fast.  Not sure when Burma was last groomed but it was lots of fun, a couple of cm of snow on top of ice. Ridge all the way to the Fire Tower was great, nice and flat.  A few thin icy spots on turns but nothing to worry about.  All in all a great day for a ski.

Gatineau Park evening report 26Feb

As reported by Ken the groomers have been out on Ridge this evening.  Unfortunately there has been a medical evacuation(no serious injury) from Huron and the snowmobile track will no doubt be hard packed by morning as it traveled on the freshly groomed FP.  No one minds this kind of snowmobile damage but the hikers and snowshoers have also been out tonight so there will be some damage on FP from this.  Otherwise expect morning conditions to be fantastic, I am hoping the groomer went out to the Fire Tower.

Gatineau Park ski conditions from P16 26Feb Gr8

I skated from P16 leaving around 10:30.  According to the website trail 50 was groomed yesterday pm.  The grooming was very good; it was nice and fast.  It was the best I have experienced on 50 this year.  The nice grooming was not even hurt by the usual snowmobile track and for a change there were almost no footprints anywhere. 

After the junction of 50 and 55 conditions were ok but not nearly as good.  The road to Taylor Lake was nice.

The Demsis ridge has been knocked down on the trail but it still exists here and there.  It does not interfere with the stride but you can see that it is enough to make  the skaters avoid that part of the trail and that will simply wear out the other part faster.  Fortunately it is no longer a source of frustation.

I was surprised there weren`t more people out on such a nice day.

Gatineau Park 22FEB from p10

Skated up FP to Ridge, 1B and 24.  The excellent grooming from yesterday has been skied out so now FP is very hard packed but quite skiable.  Ridge after 1b is pretty good as was 24 because it has seen much less traffic.  Although I didn't go on Burma it looks like some kind of machinery has been put to work.

ski conditions 21FEB from p10

Skated from p10 to Ridge to the lookout and back on the parkways.  For the first ten minutes the conditions were good, but then along came the heavy equipment (at about 11am) and the conditions suddenly became very good.  Excellent classic track and great skating lane.  Once on Ridge it seemed this had been done since the race yesterday and it too was very nice, although at least one rock showing.  By the time we were coming back down FP the heavy equipment was doing the other side of the parkway.

Gatineau Park Ski conditions 13FEB Penguin, Practice Course etc

Grooming was very  good on the Duldrums, Penguin (only very minor thin spots at the lookout), Ridge, FP and the practice course.  The practice course has not been trackset so the skate lane is nice and wide.  Its been a couple of years since I have been on this trail-I forgot how much fun it is.  Trails 4 and 14 are also in great shape.

Gatineau Park 11FEB-late afternoon Duldrums FP, Penguin, Burma

Skating was pretty good today.  Grooming is not perfect (some fairly minor snowmobile damage) but still very good.  Burma has improved a great deal since last Friday.  They have widened it too, however there are  many bumps and dips that should not be there but it was still fun and is no longer the slog it was just a week ago.  There are thins spots near the lookout @  Penguin and at just a few points on Burma.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 6FEB- Penguin to Fire Tower 1B and 24

In summary, conditions were very good.  1 Blue was a little "ridgey" but I think today had as good grooming as I have seen in the last few years.  Compared to the depressing state of trail 50 yesterday it was like skiing on a different planet.

I left p10 and went down to the Duldrums.  Grooming here was basically 10/10 (but trail 32 is pretty thin) and stayed like that to Penguin.  There is tremendous improvement here, basically no troughs although it was thin at the lookout.  Conditions stayed excellent until the snowmobile track appeared but it was there only for a few kms.

From 1b to 24 there was a small ridge but with the fast snow it was no problem.  24 was excellent.  From there to the Tower was very good, only a slight ridge and a few thin spots past McKinstry.  1b was very good.

I am quick to criticize Demsis but certainly give them full credit today.  I wonder if they were able to fix trail 50?

Gatineau Park ski conditions 5FEB P16-19, Taylor Lake-detailed damage report

Classic looked very good today, a few thin spots but a 9/10.  That is the good news.
 
For skaters its a much different story.  I left p16 around 8:15am.  The trail had been groomed overnight and looked great however I soon realized that the trail changed from bi-level to tri-level and back and forth.  This makes for a more challenging skate.

Fortunately there was no fresh snowmobile tracks when I started.  However after about 10km here came the maintenance snowmobile.  Naturally he was driving either in the wider part of the trail (ie. skate lane) when it was bi-level or right in the trough when it was tri-level, making things worse.  Why would he be out there after the grooming if he is only picking up garbage or whatever else they need to do?  Get it done late in the day and then stay off the freshly groomed trails.  Or if they can't do that have the machines ride on the upper part of the bi-level in an effort to flatten the trail.

The damage was done and remained until Lac Philippe when he obviously went on the snowshoe trail.  Then we were back just to the bi-level to p19 and it was not too bad.  The road to Lac Taylor was pretty good.

On my return trip going through the camping area it was obvious that since I had come through a snowshower and walker had now walked in the skate lane-right beside the snowshoe trail.  The damage here lasted for a couple of kms. 

At this point it was obvious that the snowmobile that had come toward me earlier in the morning had now come back.  Instead of 2 ruts we now had 4!  The skate lane was now a mess and it was likely only 10am.  This continued until Healy and then we were back to the simple bi-level, tri-level grooming.  I realize that the trough that runs on the trail is past damage from having snowmobiles on the length of the trail as the trough is the exact width of these machines.  If they needed to do this why have them ride on the same part of the trail each time? 

If you classic you could have had a great day, if you skate its an exercise in frustration.  However, given how bad the grooming is I think that the standard bi-level, tri-level grooming is going to be as good as it gets.  Demsis simply does not know how to provide a flat surface on trail 50 and when you see how the snowmobile destroys what has been done you have to wonder if Demsis is even trying.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 4FEB, FP, Burma, Ridge, 1B 24 CP

I went out later in the day from p10.  FP was very good but then I went up Burma.  This trail has been neglected.  I think the NCC website says that it was "compacted" by a snowmobile.  The work here is awful-it doesn't need to be groomed, first it needs to be repaired.  The troughs are deeper now that there is more snow.  I don't know why they don't really compact the trail, run a machine over three or four times.  The troughs are formed simply because of the lack of compaction, it is not from snowplowers.

After Burma was Ridge which is pretty good grooming wise but is well worn already.  1B was in good shape.  Back onto Ridge after 1b gets only 5/10.  The crown is back and you can see where people skate at the top and then are sliding into the soft stuff.  Again, I think they need to really compact the trail. 
Turning right onto 24 at the first Ridge/24 intersection I finally hit really good grooming.  One machine, grooming at the right time, has set things up very nicely 9/10.  Unfortunately this ended at the turnoff for the parking lots so the rest of 24 was soft and narrow but was not too bad.  If only they had just kept going with the big machine.

The Champlain Parkway from the lookout has had less grooming (I guess because the snow blows away) and the CP was not so good until you got to Huron lookout where you could see that the groomer had turned around there.  From that point back to P10 was really good.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 30JAN p16-p19 & 55

#50 had been groomed early and had set up well however the Demsis "Ridge" has returned, big time,  between p16 and Herridge.  Not only is the trail clearly "bi-level" but the snowmobiles have been going in the skate lane rather than on the top of the ridge which might knock it down a bit.  Even worse than this are many very deep and wide gouges or troughs.  These appear frequently and are not only there on the steeper downhills.  After Herridge things improve a little and the closer one gets to Lac Philippe the better.  There are several thin spots on the usual hills plus there are thin spots in the classic tracks along the trail with grass, leaves etc clearly visible.
From the campground entrance to P19 the grooming is not very good at all.  The ridge at this point runs right in the middle of the skate lane.  However the snowshoe trail was nice and level-go figure?
Taylor lake road starts out from #50 looking not so good but improves after about 400m.  Its not as good as it was a few weeks ago but was quite enjoyable but this part I would rate 7/10.
There is a decent amount of snow in that part of the park.  Its not a lack of snow that is causing the problems, in fact in the tree covered sections, where the snow cover is less, the skiing is faster and the ridge is not a problem.
Trail 50 has had weak grooming for several years now.  I find it worse than other parts of the park.  The trail itself should be pretty easy to groom, its fairly level and not too rocky.  I don't know if it is a different kind of equipment but Demsis just can't get it right. 

Gatineau Park 29Jan - to Fire Tower-FP, Burma, 1b, 24, Ridge

I arrived @ P10 after 8am and was a little surprised how few cars there were.  Heavy equipment had been used to groom and the FP was perfect.  I turned right on Burma, no grooming had been done but it was still ok.  I was surprised when I got to Ridge-no grooming.  I went along to 24-no grooming.  And so it was this way to the Fire Tower.  I was the first skater so it was slow but very enjoyable.  Ridge after McKinstry has been neglected this year.  It was doable but clearly had not been groomed as often as the rest of 1 blue.  Still this part of the trail is worth the effort.

On the return I noticed 24 had been groomed as I went by the first Ridge/24 intersection but Ridge itself was not groomed.  At the next 24/Ridge intersection the grooming on Ridge began but I turned off to 1B-no grooming but by then enough skiers were out that it was nicely packed down. 

But then what did I see?  A large piece of heavy equipment coming toward me on 1B.  This was the machine we had been waiting for but why was it there @ 11am when the park is crowded?  I think its ill-advised to have this piece of equipment out when a) it was too late, the snow was packed down and quite nice b)its dangerous on such a trail when the park is busy because the machine is so wide c)with the skier traffic there is no time for the trail to harden, right away deep gouges were being put into the trail by the skiers.  I'm sure that within an hour it was no better than it was without the grooming.

 I forgot to check Burma on the way back so I'm not sure if they did that later in the morning?

All in all a pretty good day, it was tougher than normal but well worth it. 

Gatineau Park 28Jan late afternoon ski from p10

I left from P10 and headed down 32 for Penguin.  32 does have some very thin spots and one must be vigilant.  The duldrums are well worn but decent.  Penguin was good as the troughs have been reduced making it much easier to make your way up.  However the hill at the lookout was all worn out again so be careful.  Ridge was quite good until Fortune-I think it had been groomed late in the day, either that or there was little activity today.  We all know what to expect after that on your way to Champlain!  The classic tracks everywhere seemed to be pretty good. 

The deer that hang around Huron are becoming more tame every day.  Today one of them just stood in the classic tracks staring at me while I skated by.   

With a little more snow tonight I expect tomorrow will be very good.

Jan 22 - Duldrums, Penguin, Ridge, Burma, 24 and 1B

Fortunately the skating was not as slow as I thought it might be.  Grooming was pretty good everywhere except 24 has not been groomed recently and there is plenty of snow on it.  1B may not have been groomed but was ok because of skier traffic.  There is a little gravel on Penguin.  Burma needs to be groomed, widened and flattened!  I wonder if the "troughs" on any of the trails can fixed this season?

We all know that the trails are very bumpy with a nasty crown in the middle every now and again.  I used to think this was due to lack of snow.  I am not sure this is the case.  Even with more snow its not clear how this problem will be solved.  I wonder if the folks at the Gatineau Loppet are already looking at contingency plans?  You can ski up Penguin, Ridge and Burma but it would be a disappointment if you travelled a long way, even if you got one of the free hotel rooms they are offering.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 15 Jan. p16-p19

Today I skied p16-p19 and back just as it was starting to snow.  Conditions are about what you would expect.   Skating was fair and there was a shallow classic track.  We need more snow.  Watch out for stones on the hills and the odd rock sticking out.  It seems that more snow was falling up there than in the city.  Lets hope we get closer to 10 than 5 cm.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 9Jan11 Loop from p6

I left P6 around 3:45pm so I figured the trails would be pretty beat up by then.  I took the CP to the GP and then up Penguin along Ridge to Champlain and then back to p6 along the parkway.  The parkways were as I expected for late in the day.  Another good grooming and they will be excellent.  Penguin and Kyber pass need lots of work.  The snow was totally removed in some places by the those coming downhill.  Sections could be deemed dangerous (certainly for skis) with a few rocks and gravel showing.  Even Ridge past Huron has some sketchy sections.  I'm not sure what can be done to keep snow in those places, it may just require another meter to make them totally safe.

Once again I was left wondering about the "crowning" on parts of Ridge, for example the strip below Kyber.  I don't see how more snow will help this problem.

My goal was to get to Champlain Lookout in time for the sunset, I figure I missed it by about 5 min, it would have been beautiful this evening.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 7Jan11 Parkway loop from p9

As accurately reported on the NCC website @ 8am there was no new grooming.  In spite of this "warning" the park was about as crowded as I've seen it.  The lovely new snow made for tough skating conditions although the snow itself was pretty fast.  Classic looked like fun.  If the trails are groomed at the right time they should set up nice and firm for tomorrow.

I'm not sure if there was enough snow for good grooming to take place on trails like Burma or 1 Blue so it may still be a while until the crowds can spread out.